News & Articles on Burma

Thursday, 03 November, 2011
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Myanmar Times
Suu Kyi sponsors short film festival
By Kyaw Hsu Mon
October 31 - November 6, 2011
DAW Aung San Suu Kyi, Zaganar and director Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi have linked up to host a short film festival in January, the comedian told The Myanmar Times last week.

The Art of Freedom Film Festival will be held from January 1 to 4, with documentary and short film makers to submit entries no later than December 20.

The festival aims to "broaden the essence and concept of freedom" among Myanmar people and encourage freedom of expression, organisers said last week.

Zaganar, also known as Ko Thura, and Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi will judge the contest, while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will provide financial support.

"The idea [to hold the festival] was Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's; we are just supporting her to. She came up with the objectives herself," Zaganar said.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will provide the funding for the festival and she plans to give the awards to the winners. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi and I will be responsible for the organisation.

"We will announce the winners and give the prizes on January 4, Independence Day. There are no limits on age or background, anyone who is interested can enter."

The festival's objectives include to use film and cinematic art as a medium to see the essence of freedom as explained by an independent filmmaker. Films will be selected "based on an individual filmmaker's enlightenment on the essence of freedom", and selected films will be screened over the four days. An opening ceremony will be held on December 31.

The location is yet to be decided but likely to be at either Maha Thantithukha Monastery or Maha Withudaryone Monastery, both in Tarmwe township.

"I prefer the Maha Thantithukha, which is where the Wathann Film Festival was held last month," Zaganar said.

Films must have English subtitles, and run for no longer than one hour. There are likely to be two prize categories, for Best Short and Best Documentary, and prizes will be awarded but have not yet been announced.

Zaganar said actor Kyaw Thu, head of the Free Funeral Service Society (Yangon), was likely to submit an entry into the competition.

"Making short films is also a hobby of mine ... I made a lot of short films in the past but I won't show any of these in the festival because they are not related with the theme of 'freedom'," Zaganar said. "When I released from the prison, I met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and she said she wanted to hold a documentary competition ... so we decided to cooperate and arrange this festival." He said they hope to hold the festival annually.

The selection committee will accept only DVDs of complete films. Directors should submit two copies of their film, along with a completed submission and agreement form, a synopsis of the film, a director's statement and biographies of the directors and producers. http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/599/news59901.html
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KNU Statement Appealing UN and Democratic Countries
to Act for Stopping Offensives against Kachin and Other Ethnic Nationalities
Thursday, 03 November 2011 17:30 KNU

1. The Karen National Union (KNU) is very much concerned about the Kachin and Shan peoples' life and security as President Thein Sein government has been sending more troops and conducting military offensives against the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP). Human rights violations, rape of women and atrocities come with the offensive and the peoples in the conflict zones have to face untold miseries and denial of humanitarian assistance.
2. On May 30, 2011, U Thein Sein was inaugurated as president of the country. It was his most important obligation to settle the political problems relating to the ethnic nationalities and take steps for establishing peace. However, the installation of a new government has not stopped military offensives in the ethnic nationalities' areas. As the Burmese troops remain in the Karen State and other KNU areas as before, military attacks, human rights violations, forced labor, use of women and children as human shields, looting, arbitrary arrest and torture of the innocent civilians are being committed by the Burmese troops, as before.
3. Due to violent military offensives in the Kachin and Shan States in the north, more than 20,000 civilians have to flee and hide for their life. The offensives aim to destroy not only the KIO and the SSPP but also the civilian populations. The vicious military offensives with gross human rights violations, rape of women and destruction of livelihood of the people can only be termed as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
4. The ethnic nationalities are ready for dialogue if President U Thein Sein sincerely wants to resolve the political problems. In July this year, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) wrote a letter on behalf of the ethnic nationalities, to President U Thein Sein, urging him to hold dialogue for peace. However, as there has been not only any response but major offensives have been launched with increasing ferocity in the northern part of Burma, we, the KNU, earnestly appeal to the United Nations and democratic countries of the World:

a. To vigorously give more pressure to President U Thein Sein government in order to stop immediately the sending of more troops to the north and the offensive against the Kachin and Shan peoples;
b. To undertake for resolving political problems together with the ethnic nationalities for establishment of peace in the country, after stopping also the Burmese offensives against the peoples in the Karen and Karenni States;
c. To urge the Burmese government to allow humanitarian organizations to give assistance to the Kachin and Shan peoples in distress;
d. To find means and ways for protecting the security and rights of the Kachin and Shan peoples, and giving humanitarian assistance to them.

Peace, stability and guarantees will not be able to be established, so long as the political problems of Burma are not resolved by political means.

Date - 2/11/2011 Karen National Union
Contact Point: - 66-870 - 616 325 Supreme Headquarters
http://shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4169:knu-statement-appealing-un-and-democratic-countries-to-act-for-stopping-offensives-against-kachin-and-other-ethnic-nationalities&catid=102:mailbox&Itemid=279
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New ethnic report calls for end to military solution
Thursday, 03 November 2011 15:07 S.H.A.N.

The 98 page Discrimination, Conflict and Corruption: The Ethnic States of Burma, which was launched by Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) yesterday in Chiangmai, has once again urged an end to continuation of "a military solution to what is primarily a political problem" with the non-Burman ethnic groups.

"(All along), ethnic groups have called for a genuine federal union based upon the principles of equality for all of the country's citizens," it reads. "(But) The governments of Burma, especially from 1962 until 2010, have pursued only a military solution to what is primarily a political problem, and have consequently given ethnic groups no other option but to engage in armed struggle."

The latest instance was the previous military government's response to the ceasefire groups call for greater say in the internal affairs of their respective states. Its coerced creation of Border Guard Forces (BGFs) in which ethnic armed forces were required to accept Burma Army authority, it says, had led to the resumption of war in Karen, Shan and Kachin states. "(These) clearly show that the ethnic issue needs to be addressed not by military force but by political compromise."

Lt-Gen Yawdserk, Chairman of the Shan State Army (SSA)'s political arm Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) who was not present at the report launch, told SHAN earlier:

"The Burmese military always like to claim it has been formed to uphold the Three Causes (i.e. Non-disintegration of the Union, Non-disintegration of National Solidarity and Perpetuation of National Sovereignty). They must however realize that it was them and not us non-Burmans who had endangered the Three Causes in the first place."

Dr Lian H. Sakhong, Vice President of the ENC, who answered most of the questions from the media, also urged Naypyitaw to terminate its twin process of Democratization in the urban areas and Militarization in the country side to eliminate the ethnic peoples. "Both are mutually opposed to each other," he said.

Dr Suikhar, the ENC's Secretary General, meanwhile, called upon the new government to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. "Among the Asean nations, only Malaysia and Burma are not signatories to it," he pointed out.

The ENC was formed in 2001 and "entrusted with the task of fostering unity and cooperation between all ethnic nationalities" to prepare for a Tripartite Dialogue and a transition to democracy.

It declared earlier that the ENC itself would not be negotiating for peace, but would provide technical assistance to groups negotiating with Naypyitaw.

Since 18 August 2011, when it announced its invitation for peace talks to Burma's armed groups, the new government has entered talks with 7 of them. Talks with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) however broke down and conflict has escalated between the two sides. Two others with the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and National Democratic Alliance Army (UDAA) were successful. The rest with the Karen National Union (KNU), Democratic Buddhist Army (DKBA), Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and New Mon State Party (NMSP) are still "off and on" going. http://shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4164:new-ethnic-report-calls-for-end-to-military-solution&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266
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Play More Active Role In Asean, Tun M Urges Myanmar
From Amer Hamzah Md Sap

YANGON (MYANMAR), Nov 2 (Bernama) -- Myanmar should play a more active role in Asean to enable it to tackle problems arising from globalisation, said Malaysia's former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said Asean member countries would achieve more by talking about its interests with one voice.

"Together, we can grow in the region," he said when delivering a business talk about Malaysia's experience in globalisation and liberalisation here Wednesday.

The talk was organised by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) in collaboration with the Union of the Republic of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

He said globalisation was mooted with the idea, among others, of facilitating easy access of capital and technology into another country, but the question was whether it would benefit the receiving countries.

"(For example) it is good if the capital inflow creates income for the (receiving) country but it is not if it only flows into the stock market because the share prices would go up but the value has nothing to do with the company's performance," he said.

While globalisation means bigger markets for our country's products, it also has a negative impact, he said, adding this does not mean globalisation, put forward by Western countries, should be rejected, but it should be re-examined.

Earlier, he witnessed the signing of four memorandums of understanding (MoU)at the same event.

The first MoU was signed by Myanmar Corobiz Travel and Tours Co Ltd chairman Aung Soe Har with Felda Travel and Tours chief executive officer (CEO) S. Andrew Francis to enable both parties to collaborate in Myanmar's travel and tour business.

The second MoU was signed by Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd CEO Zakaria Arshad with Golden Land East Asia Development Ltd managing director Nyein Aung to enable both sides to collaborate in the distribution of packed cooking oil under the "Saji" brand in Myanmar.

Zakaria also signed an MoU on his company's behalf with Grand Wynn Enterprise chairman Hla Wynn to collaborate in the distribution of fast-moving consumer goods in Myanmar.

The last MoU was signed by Felda Vegetables Oil Products Sdn Bhd CEO Wan Mohamad Zain Wan Ismail with Htoo group of companies managing director Kyaw Thi Ha for collaboration in rubbber and palm oil processing and for travel and tours in Myanmar.

Dr Mahathir also toured the exhibition mounted by Felda, MPOC and UMFCCI.

He was accompanied by his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, MPOC CEO Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron and UMFCCI president U Win Aung.

-- BERNAMA http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=624254
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November 03, 2011 20:37 PM
Invest In Myanmar Now, Tun Mahathir Urges Malaysians

YANGON (MYANMAR), Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged Malaysians to invest in Myanmar now, saying if they do not do so now they will probably be left behind investors from other countries.

"I see Myanmar is now more relaxed," he told Bernama here, adding the country is prepared to bring changes towards a more open society.

Dr Mahathir flew to Myanmar's new administrative centre at Nay Pyi Taw this morning to meet Myanmar President Thein Sein at the latter's office.

The meeting lasted over an hour, after which Dr Mahathir met Myanmar's Industry Minister Soe Thein and later flew back here.

The former Prime Minister, who was responsible for bringing Myanmar into Asean, said Thein Sein spoke on various matters, including the country's Kyat currency and collaboration on developing palm oil and rubber plantations in the the country's south.

The Myanmar president, who also spoke on the possibility of Malaysians investing in Myanmar, also showed interest in forging closer relations with Malaysia and in how Malaysia was developed, he said.

The meeting was generally positive, he said, adding as he was not on an official visit, he would relay to the Malaysian government on what was discussed with Thein Sein.

Dr Mahathir, who arrived here yesterday, said he also had a dialogue with Myanmarese industrialists after delivering a talk on globalisation and liberalisation.

Besides asking relevant questions, many of them wanted to know about several matters implemented in Malaysia, he said.

He also met pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he had never met before and who is no longer on house arrest, at his hotel before flying home.

-- BERNAMA http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=624583
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BRIEF-Thai PTTEP keen to bid for Myanmar petroleum fields
BANGKOK | Thu Nov 3, 2011 12:17am EDT

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Pcl :

* The company is keen to bid for 2-3 onshore petroleum fields in Myanmar, Anon Sirisaengtaksin, president and chief executive officer, told reporters

* Anon did not give further details about the deals. The government has opened bids for concessions on 18 onshore oil and gas blocks. (Reporting by Pisit Changplayngam) http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/pttexploration-idUSL4E7M30KG20111103?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=401
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Burma's Opium Addiction
By Mong Palatino, The Diplomat

Opium cultivation is on the increase in the Palaung communities in the northern Shan State of Burma. This fact was revealed in a study published last month by the Palaung Women's Organization. Indeed, it would seem the local authorities are not only aware of the problem, but are aggressively promoting and protecting the opium trade there.

The group reported that opium growing in the 15 villages in Namkham Township has increased by 79 percent in the past two years. In 2008, there were only 617 hectares of opium fields in the area. This year the figure is expected to rise to 1,109 hectares. About 12 villages that hadn't previously grown opium have started to grow it since 2009.

Drug addiction has also worsened in Palaung communities. In one village, the group discovered that 91 percent of males aged 15 and over were addicted to drugs. The drug menace has also caused the crime rate to go up, including a spike in cases involving domestic violence.

The group is blaming the local and national government for the revival of the opium industry in the area, even accusing a local MP of being the key protector of the opium trade in the region. The group cited testimony from a villager that former militia leader Kyaw Myint had promised Namkham voters that they could plant opium without regulation for 5 years if they voted for him. Kyaw Myint ran under the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which dominated last year's elections.

Palaung farmers were tea growers, but the decline of the tea industry, which is heavily controlled by the junta-dominated government, has forced them to switch to opium growing in order to survive. Meanwhile, opium cultivation is tolerated because politicians, soldiers, police, and militia forces can collect high taxes and bribes.

The local women's group believes that the national government allowed Kyaw Myint's illegal drug activities to flourish in exchange for its support for the government's military campaign against ethnic rebels. It said the issue "highlights the nexus between drug production and power relations in Burma's conflict-ridden Shan State." It added that the government "needs to rely on its army infrastructure, including local paramilitary forces, to suppress the ethnic resistance movements," even if the pro-government forces are sustained by the opium trade.

This latest alternative drug report by a local NGO, which covered only one province of Burma, should inspire the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to conduct a more independent study of the drug situation in the country, since it only relies on the data submitted by the junta-backed government. The fact is that the UNODC reliance on government statistics has blinded the agency and weakened its capacity to address the worsening drug problem in the country.

At a minimum, the Burmese government should investigate the illicit drug cultivation in the Shan State. It should be ready to punish public officials and military officers who are found guilty of protecting the opium trade, and it should also assist opium farmers by promoting alternative crop development. Instead of turning a blind eye to the evils of drug use, it should launch an awareness campaign targeting the young about the need to combat the dangerous impact of illegal drugs in society.

All rights reserved - The Diplomat http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/burmas-opium-addiction_n_1072465.html
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Disempowering farmers puts a curse on Burma
By NANCY HUDSON-RODD
Published: 3 November 2011

The 60 landless farmers who protested in Rangoon last week before being quickly dispersed by police provided an early acid test for the new civilian government's commitment to reforms. Pho Phyu, a lawyer supporting farmers' rights, who was among the seven subsequently arrested, said: "We have approached parliament for help but nothing happened, so we decided to take it to the streets".

Even in totalitarian states, the time comes when past errors are admitted and high placed officials are called to account. In Burma there is a sedation of political understanding. There is no climate of enquiry which, while perhaps not giving immediate results, can at least reject lies and reinforce knowledge of unresolved public wrongs. Intellectuals take an avoidance strategy when talking up the impotent monotonous discourse of reconciliation, pleased that they are being finally asked to participate in the affairs of the state.

In an August workshop on rural development and poverty alleviation, President Thein Sein told attendees, among them "entrepreneurs, economic experts, high-ranking officials from ministries and representatives from various strata of life", that Burma will be developed soon if people are united and work hard together, making good use of favourable conditions. Then on World Food Day in October, the state-run New Light of Myanmar celebrated the nation's extensive sown paddy land, which it said not only supplies local food needs but produces surplus "contributing to fulfil food demand of the world". Maize, beans, pulses, edible oils and kitchen crops fully supply local consumption needs and meat and fish sectors play a key role in food production of the state.

But in Burma, one in three children under the age of five are severely underweight, 11 percent suffer wasting, and 41 percent are stunted, reflecting severe nutritional deprivation. The official terms and slogans separate thought from reality: the official ideology encourages a collective deception, and the hypocrisy works because people are able and willing to live within the lie.

Any economic system can be imposed by law and by habit once the political machinery is entrenched. The 2008 constitution declares the state owner of all lands, all natural resources above and below the ground, above and beneath the water and in the atmosphere above the Union. Farmers have no legal right to own land. They are permitted to grow certain crops, but if they fail to plant, land is taken. The military and their civilian collaborators are entrenching a socio-economic mutuality in the "new government" that takes more land from farmers.

"Blessed with favourable weather and fertile soils, paddy and other crops are successfully thriving", the New Light of Myanmar boasted on 23 October. Farmers must "strive for surplus production of crops" by applying modern technologies and planting quality rice strains, to ensure "agricultural businesses penetrate into the global market".

Farmers with no individual rights are used by the state for the rulers' benefit, a system of exploitation that has gradually expanded over the past decade. In 1999, the then-ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) granted large tracts of over 5,000 acres of "vacant, virgin, and fallow lands" for 30-year leases heavily subsidised in terms of credit, agricultural inputs, roads and communication links to organisations and private companies, among them the crony-run Asia World, Olympic, and Yuzana. By 2001, over one million acres were distributed among 100 enterprises. Individual farmers had no access to such benefits.

Since 2005 the state has encouraged investors from China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Kuwait to invest in contract farms. In 2008, more than 100,000 acres of farmland in the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon division were given to local companies, Asia World, Htoo Trading, Max Myanmar, and Aye Ya Shwe Wa. The agriculture minister claimed that no land was seized for this contract farming because the state is the owner of all farmland. Now the government is revising its foreign investment law to allow land ownership by foreign investors, with legislation likely to be enacted by early next year.

In 2008, I and a colleague conducted research of 467 farm households of fourteen townships in six divisions and states in Burma whose farmland had been arbitrarily confiscated. Only six farmers (1.2 percent) were compensated far below the value of their farmland. Implications of uncompensated confiscation included dramatic income losses, inability to feed the family, and loss of village residency rights. Survival tactics forced people to work in urban factories, as casual farm labourers on their own land, and herders of buffaloes between villages. Land was confiscated for infrastructure development, private shrimp farm enterprises, personal use by the former junta's so-called civil organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Organisation (USDA), police, and infantry battalion members.

The UN special rapporteur previously expressed concern over the role of the USDA, established in 1993, as a political party in last year's elections. "Over the years, the [special rapporteur] has received allegations of USDA's involvement in acts of political and criminal violence, the latest being the violent crackdown on demonstrators [in 2007] following the fuel crisis, as documented in his report to the 6th session of the HRC. The USDA may be used to legitimize a transition from a military regime to a civilian Government that could be not genuine".

The USDA was officially abolished in 2010. General Than Shwe, principal USDA patron, approved the transfer of all its property to a new political proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). On 29 April, Thein Sein, 26 ministers and senior officials formed the USDP, which was recognised immediately by the election commission. The regime consolidated its power by force; the business cronies entered parliament. Khin Shwe, a member of the USDP and owner of the Zaykabar Company, seized 830 acres of farmers' land for his cement factory in September 2011.

The 2008 constitution structurally entrenches the military in the government by giving its members perpetual and disproportionate influence in the legislature and the ability to veto any constitutional amendments. The army-endorsed president has powers of appointment, and can remove superior judges. New high courts at the state and regional levels were established while the Supreme Court powers have expanded. The courts work effectively as agents of the "new government" to protect continued authoritarian rule.

The seizing of power and its excesses is taken as the natural condition in Burma, and reconciliation is seen by some as the way forward, rather than defiance of excessive power. If we start to account for all arbitrary power, all forms of dictatorship, as innately and potentially obscene, our language must communicate the illegitimacy in a forceful, uncompromising language of rejection, seeking to make it ridiculous and contemptible, and deflating its pretensions. Such language does not seek to dismantle the structure of power, which can only be a collective action, but these actions and language contribute to psychological resistance of public attitudes to forms of oppression.

The political will is paralysed by the aura of sanctity which, the longer it lasts, hypnotically exercises power over all. The cold reality is that power has to be endured. Even when it is culpable and seen to be so, it is effective because it cannot be avoided by constitutional agreements. All that is left to citizens is an attitude towards it, outwardly expressed or internalised. The only publicly accessible arenas of activities are media criticism and street demonstrations.

Forms of overt public activity occur after much prior preparation towards destroying the mystique and impregnability of the powerful. The farmers' protest in Rangoon is an example of the struggle to break this mystique. The farmers refuse to live the lie.

The government should follow advice of Olivier de Schatter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who said last week that farmers must not become disempowered labourers on their own land. Failure to support farmers to live decently from farming is a key cause of hunger. Perhaps the hunger of children and farmers is not a concern for the "new government" in Burma.

Nancy Hudson-Rodd PhD, human geographer, former director of the Centre for Development Studies, honorary research fellow, Edith Cowan University, has conducted research in Burma for the past decade on the confiscation of farmers' land by the military regime. She can be reached at n.hudson_rodd@ecu.edu.au http://www.dvb.no/analysis/disempowering-farmers-is-a-curse-on-burma/18515
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US officials scrutinising Burma de'tente
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 3 November 2011

US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner joined Derek Mitchell for talks with Burmese ministers (Reuters)

Two senior-level US officials currently in Burma have held talks with the country's foreign minister amid the strongest push yet by Washington to reengage with a government it considers more intent on reform than its prior incarnation.

The US delegation is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic maneuvering by key players in the international community, and coincides with a visit by Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, who has stepped in as acting UN envoy to Burma.

A US embassy spokesperson in Rangoon told DVB that the two US officials, Ambassador Derek Mitchell and Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, Michael Posner, held talks with Wunna Maung Lwin yesterday. The three had "detailed discussions on political prisoners, and on political reconciliation with both the democratic opposition and armed ethnic groups," according to the spokesperson.

It is the third time since September that Mitchell has visited Burma, having only just rounded off a two-day trip on Wednesday last week. Observers consider the intensity of Washington's efforts to engage the government as a sign that the Obama administration is attempting to break with past US policy of isolationism, although officials have remained coy about the future of US sanctions on Burma.

Posner reportedly told the head of the Democratic Party Myanmar, Thu Wei, that "the US will look to revoke sanctions step-by-step" if key demands are met. These include a greater space for opposition political parties to operate in, as well as the full release of political prisoners and "peace making", likely referring to ongoing conflicts between Naypyidaw and ethnic armies.

According to Thu Wei, Posner was in Burma to "see how solid the changes are", and said that Washington considers the process of reform to be "rapidly taking place".

While the issue of human rights and political freedom dominates the rhetoric of Washington's approach to Burma, it has also made little secret of its desire to contain China's growing clout in the region by drawing strategically valuable Southeast Asian states such as Burma and Vietnam into its own orbit.

Mitchell's consecutive visits may be an attempt to exploit an apparent fissure in relations between Burma and its most prized ally, China, following President Thein Sein's decision in early October to scrap the China-backed Myitsone dam. There is thought to be unease in the top echelons of the Burmese government over its increasing subservience to China, although Wunna Maung Lwin was quickly dispatched to Beijing following the Myitsone announcement to help mend relations.

In a lengthy article by Hillary Clinton in Foreign Policy magazine last month, the Secretary of State spoke of the need for the US gain a foothold in the Asia-Pacific after decades spent watching its influence there decline.

Under the title of 'America's Pacific Century', she wrote: "In a time of scarce resources, there's no question that we need to invest them wisely where they will yield the biggest returns, which is why the Asia-Pacific represents such a real 21st-century opportunity for us."

Washington will closely monitor any signs of tension between Burma and China, as it has done over the past year with Vietnam, which is currently at loggerheads with Beijing over maritime boundaries in the South China Sea. A panel of experts are due in Washington DC on Friday to conduct a forum on China-Burma relations and US interests in the region.

In a telling sign of US interests in the region, the conference is part-sponsored by Chevron, which operates a controversial pipeline in Burma and is the US' key economic interest in the country, and includes Professor Li Chenyang, one of a team of Chinese academics who made the first public proposal for the trans-Burma Shwe gas pipeline, financed by Beijing. China's unease over the stability of its eastern seaboard and the Malacca Straits chokepoint, through which much of its oil cargoes travel, largely prompted it to build the pipeline through Burma.

Additional reporting by Shwe Aung. http://www.dvb.no/news/us-officials-scrutinising-burma-detente/18532
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Japan told to gauge human cost of Burma dam
By THUREIN SOE
Published: 3 November 2011

Japan should investigate abuses surrounding the construction of a dam inBurma's eastern Karenni state before considering whether to resume its financial backing of the project, environmental groups warn.

During a visit to Tokyo in October, Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin was told by his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba that the resumption in aid to Burma after years of reticence from Tokyo may include rehabilitation support for the ageing 168 MW Lawpita Hydropower Plant No.2.

The Thailand-based Burma Rivers Network says however that the by-products of the dam's construction, which have dogged the more than 40 other hydropower projects inBurma, must be addressed before Japan signs on the dotted line.

"Over 12,000 people were forced from their homes by the Lawpita project. Thousands of Burma army soldiers came in to secure the project, resulting in abuses against the local population including forced labour, sexual violence, and extrajudicial killings," said in a statement.

"Water use was prioritized for the power plants, causing water shortages and destructive floods that destroyed crops. Today there are an estimated 18,000 landmines surrounding the power plants and pylons. Despite these costs, still today 80 percent of the local population has no access to electricity, as most is sent to central Burma."

Tokyo has an historical stake in the project, which began in the 1950s with funding from Japanese reparations after World War Two.

But with the cancellation in September of the China-backed Myitsone dam in northern Burma, anti-dam sentiment among Burmese is growing. Sai Sai, head of the Burma Rivers Network, told DVB that antipathy towards energy projects in Burma is compounded by the requisite militarisation of areas around dam sites.

"Conflict is still ongoing in some areas in the [Lawpita region] and thousands of landmines were laid as security measures. This is a violation of the rights of the local population as these mines restrict them from moving freely and cause difficulties for their livelihood."

Japan claims its decision to resume Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Burma stems from the new government's apparently reformist intentions, although protestors in Tokyo picketed the foreign ministry in protest at Wunna Maung Lwin's visit.

Human Rights Watch also had words for the Japanese government. Its Tokyo director, Kanae Doi, said last month: "Japan should not be seduced into thinking that Burma's recent announcements and gestures are sufficient when abuses continue in ethnic areas and many hundreds of political prisoners remain behind bars."

Following a visit to Burma by Vice Foreign Minister Makiko Kikuta in June, Japanese press suggested the resumption of aid would focus on medical assistance in the field of malaria prevention and tuberculosis, agricultural assistance, and the potential training of Burmese in Japan.

Japan is also pushing its relations with Burma in a bid stem China's growing regional clout, particularly in light of China's decision to block exports of rare earth metals to Japan, which are vital for its technologies sector. Both Japan and South Korea have bid to explore for rare earths in Burma. http://www.dvb.no/news/japan-told-to-gauge-human-cost-of-burma-dam/18523
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November 2, 2011, 7:30 PM SGT.
Thaw Between Myanmar and its Critics Continues
By A Wall Street Journal Reporter

The expanding dialogue between Myanmars government and its many critics picked up momentum this week, raising expectations of a possible breakthrough in relations between the two camps in the coming weeks.

The new U.S. special envoy to Myanmar, Derek Mitchell, arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday for his third visit in the past two months, a day after U.S. Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner arrived to meet senior Myanmar officials. A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Yangon said the trip builds upon U.S. dialogue and engagement with the country addressing shared goals of genuine reform, reconciliation, and peace and stability.

A day earlier, on Monday, the United Nations Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, arrived for a five-day visit at the invitation of the Myanmar government. Mr. Nambiar was expected to hold meetings in the capital of Naypyitaw and Yangon with Myanmar leaders, civil society organizations and other political figures. Mr. Nambiars trip, in turn, was preceded by a meeting on Sunday between dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar Labor Minister Aung Ky, the fourth such meeting between Mr. Suu Kyi and the Cabinet minister since July.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa also visited in recent days, according to Reuters and other media reports, which quoted him as saying there were irreversible changes underway in the country, suggesting he would support a bid by Myanmars government to take over the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member regional grouping, in 2014. His trip was planned to assess recent reforms in the country to help determine whether Myanmar should take over the lead role in Asean in 2014 as it tries to rehabilitate its image on the international stage. Attempts to reach Mr. Natalegawa, whose country currently chairs the group, were unsuccessful.

The flurry of meetings has raised expectations among many residents that international leaders are looking for a way to reward the Myanmar government for backing a number of reforms in recent months after years of repressive military rule. Civilian leaders with close ties to Myanmars military took power in Naypyitaw this year after an election late last year that was described as a fraud by Western governments. Since then, the government has loosened restrictions on the media, permitted some small public demonstrations and released some but not all of the political prisoners Myanmar has long kept behind bars.

Those and other moves have put Western leaders in a bind as they try to decide how best to respond to the latest reforms. Some Western countries, especially some in Europe, believe its time to reward Myanmars government by easing economic sanctions or backing other moves, such as encouraging more financial support from multilateral institutions such as the World Bank. But others, including some senior U.S. officials, believe they need to take a hard line against the Myanmar government until it releases all political prisoners, among other steps.

Speculation is rising, though, that at least some kind of deal or confidence-building measure may be in the offing soon, including possible moves worked out in conjunction with Ms. Suu Kyi and her political organization, the National League for Democracy. One possible step would be for NLD leaders to formally register the party with the Myanmar government after it was officially disbanded by authorities last year for boycotting the countrys first national elections in 20 years. It is widely assumed that Myanmar authorities support party registration because it would be seen as vote of confidence by the countrys largest dissident group in the countrys evolving political system.

Myanmars Parliament recently amended a 2010 political party registration law after complaints that it discriminated against the governments political opponents. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, Ms. Suu Kyi hinted she might be willing to register the party, noting they seem to be changing the bits that we said were not really acceptable in 2010. But the amendments havent yet been signed into law by Thein Sein, the countrys president.

A senior NLD official in Myanmar told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that party leaders were meeting on Friday to determine whether to call for a central committee meeting to discuss registration; if they do so, a date would then be set for the meeting.

Not all dissidents are thrilled about the growing signs of d?tente, which they fear could lead to a lessening of pressure on the Myanamr government, which is accused of numerous human rights violations despite the latest reforms.

Were concerned that the Western governments could reward unnecessarily the regime before the right time, said Soe Aung, a Thailand-based dissident. Well be asking (foreign leaders) to be careful with their judgment, he said.

- Celine Fernandez contributed to this report. http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/11/02/thaw-between-myanmar-and-its-critics-continues/